Senior Clara Persons moved back to Regis from Salem Academy, where she won a 2A title last year. (Photo by Alej Koehnke)

During summer basketball, Regis girls coach Tim Manning had a hunch that his team could be dramatically improved after going 11-15 last season.

But even Manning couldn't have imagined the Rams' dominance nine games into this season. Unbeaten Regis (9-0) is winning by an average margin of 37.5 points per game, rising to No. 1 in the OSAAtoday 2A coaches poll.

“We were beating teams in the summer that I was a little surprised we were competing with,” Manning said. “It was hard to know what to expect, but so far it's been really good.”

The Rams got a jolt with the addition of three players. Senior point guard Clara Persons, who started for Regis as a freshman and sophomore, returned from Salem Academy, where last season she won a 2A title and made first-team all-state. And freshman guards Frankie Koehnke and Lexi Lulay brought quickness and basketball savvy.

“That gave us three really quick, knowledgeable basketball players,” Manning said. “It helped us be able to play a different style of game, a quicker, faster game.”

No team has come closer than 27 points against the Rams. They have increased their scoring from 40.6 points per game last season to 69.3, second in the state for all classifications, behind only 5A Redmond (71.4).

“We're wearing teams out,” Manning said. “We've got really good speed and stamina. We get a lot of deflections, a lot of steals, because we do a lot of trapping. We just try to disrupt other teams, get to them before they can set up an offense.”

Regis has two wins over ranked teams, handling 2A No. 7 Crosshill Christian 82-43 in its season opener and 3A No. 9 Valley Catholic 57-27 on Dec. 28. The Rams' closest game is a 64-37 rout of 3A Yamhill-Carlton, which is 10-3.

Regis cranks up the tempo, preferring to take the first open shot rather than running half-court sets. The Rams are making 7.8 three-pointers per game, connecting on a season-high 12 triples against Crosshill Christian.

Point guards Koehnke (5-foot-6) and Persons (5-5) are leading the team in scoring with averages of 17.3 and 15.4, respectively. Through eight games, they each had 22 three-pointers.

Persons' work ethic and championship pedigree helps set the tone for the Rams. Koehnke – daughter of Regis boys coach Jason Koehnke and sister of Isaiah Koehnke, who set the state's career scoring record as a senior for the Rams last year – comes from a basketball family.

“She's played a lot of basketball,” Manning said. “She just comes in as a freshman and it feels like she's been part of the team for the last four years.”

Long and athletic, the 5-8 Lulay is the team's fastest player. She comes from athletic lineage: her uncle, Travis Lulay, was a star quarterback at Regis, Montana State and in the Canadian Football League; her father, Tyler, played receiver at Regis and Montana State.

Senior wing Mylah Etzel and senior post Hadley Foster (9.8 points per game) are returning starters from last season. Sophomore guard Olivia Adams (sixth man), senior guard Mayla Manning and sophomore post Azzilin Smith – all starters last season – provide quality depth.

If the Rams have a weakness, it could be lack of size. They do not have a player taller than 5-9.

“We try to steal the ball from the guards before they can get it inside,” Manning said.

Regis will get a test Friday when it plays at No. 2 Western Christian (9-1) in a Tri-River Conference game. Last year, Western Christian was the state runner-up to Salem Academy, which has moved from the Tri-River to the 3A PacWest Conference this season.

“That will kind of tell us where we're at,” Manning said. “It's going to be a tough game, playing in the barn over there. It's a unique place to play.”